Five Places You Thought Are Safe From Rape, But Aren’t

(On the 4th anniversary of the Nirbhaya case, we are still a long way from creating a safe space for women. A set of recent incidents involving gruesome rapes of women across the country has yet again raised several questions about the Indian society and the judiciary. We at The Quint believe that a rape survivor’s life doesn’t end when she is raped. And that even if our institutions – law, the judiciary, the hospitals – are failing a rape survivor, we as a society need to step up. And keep the fight going. We are publishing this article originally published on 30 September 2016 from The Quint’s archives as part of our #FightingRape campaign.)

Welcome to another episode of Advice Girls Need to Exist sponsored by Pepper Spray Ltd. Today, we go myth-busting to five places you thought were safe from rape, but actually, are not.

You know how it is... We unconsciously divide places around us into 'potential-rape' zones and 'rape-free’ zones. But it turns out some places which we thought were rape-free could be just as dangerous.

1. Hospitals

Doctors, nurses. Saving lives. Should be safe here, right?

But, no. On 9 September, a 19-year old girl was raped by her doctor in an Intensive Care Unit (ICU) where she was admitted for dengue. In Delhi, a woman was raped by her doctor when she went for a lung check-up. So, hospitals? Not rape-free.

Also Read: The Quint’s ‘Fighting Rape’ Campaign: Rapes Reported Today

2. Railways

On a train.

A 35-year-old woman was raped in a moving train in Uttar Pradesh and then pushed out. She lost a leg. At Kalyan station near Mumbai, a 17-year-old girl was raped in a ladies toilet. Which means railways are not rape-free like we thought.

3. Schools

And school buses. Teachers. Recently, 8 girls in Maharashtra were raped by their bus driver and cleaner on the way to school. A 4-year-old girl was raped in her school washroom in Delhi.

Also Read: The Quint’s ‘Fighting Rape’ Trend for August: Rape Against Minors

4. Piano Lessons

That's right. A piano teacher in Delhi raped his 7-year-old student in Delhi. But why did this girl even need piano lessons? Aaj kal ki ladkiyan, I tell you. Anyway, tuition class. Not rape-free.

5. Of Course, Your Home

And of course, your home. Your neighbour's home. Your friend's home.

National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) data shows that ‘known’ people are more likely to rape you than strangers. An 80-year-old woman in Haryana was raped by her son's friend. Two sisters in Jaipur were allegedly raped by their step-father. That means, your home? Also not rape-free!

So, What Do You Do? Go Outside Anyway

So ladies, this helps, doesn’t it? To know that you’re at risk from rape practically everywhere!

So what does that mean? The next time you step out, take a look around, understand that the whole world is stamped ‘Not rape-free’.

And then, f**king go out anyway.

Producer: Aditya Prakash

Editor: Puneet Bhatia

Camera: Abhay Sharma